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Doğu Çalışma Grubu
The Doğu Çalışma Grubu (DÇG; en, East Study Group or East Working Group) was an alleged group within the Turkish military said to be linked to the Ergenekon organization, and possibly organised within the Turkish Gendarmerie's JITEM.dunyabulteni.net, 29 January 2009Jitem'in Doğu Çalışma Grubu deşifre edildi/ref> According to former PKK commander Şemdin Sakık, the group was formed in 1993 and carried out a number of assassinations in preparation for the 1993 alleged Turkish military coup. According to Sakık, these assassinations included (in 1993) President Turgut Özal, former Major Cem Ersever, former Turkish Gendarmerie general commander Eşref BitlisToday's Zaman, 6 November 2012Secret witness reveals identity, shady ties between PKK and Ergenekon and General Bahtiyar Aydın.Today's Zaman, 1 June 2012Ex-PKK commander Sakık blames military junta for deaths of 33 soldiers Turgut Özal died in office on 17 April 1993 in suspicious circumstances and few and a month ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a East Thrace, small portion on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula in Southeast Europe. It shares borders with the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia to the northeast; Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Iran to the east; Iraq to the southeast; Syria and the Mediterranean Sea to the south; the Aegean Sea to the west; and Greece and Bulgaria to the northwest. Cyprus is located off the south coast. Turkish people, Turks form the vast majority of the nation's population and Kurds are the largest minority. Ankara is Turkey's capital, while Istanbul is its list of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city and financial centre. One of the world's earliest permanently Settler, settled regions, present-day Turkey was home to important Neol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bahtiyar Aydın
Bahtiyar Aydın (194622 October 1993) was a Turkish general. He was a regional commander in the Turkish Gendarmerie in Lice, Diyarbakir in southeastern Turkey when he was assassinated by a sniper using a Kanas rifle. Officially a victim of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) (which denied responsibility), his death has long been considered suspicious. He was said to have "close relations with the public" and not to approve of the extrajudicial violence which was commonly used by the Turkish military in south-eastern Turkey at the time. Response to assassination According to former PKK commander Şemdin Sakık, Aydın was one of those assassinated by the Doğu Çalışma Grubu, an alleged group within the Turkish military said to be linked to the Ergenekon organization.Today's Zaman, 1 June 2012Ex-PKK commander Sakık blames military junta for deaths of 33 soldiers Other witnesses to the Ergenekon trials have also said that Aydın was assassinated by Ergenekon - possibly by PK ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Batı Çalışma Grubu
The Batı Çalışma Grubu (BÇG; en, West Study Group or West Working Group) was an alleged clandestine grouping within the Turkish military said to be linked to the Ergenekon organization. It was allegedly set up in 1997 by General Çevik Bir (then deputy-chief of the General Staff of the Republic of Turkey) as part of the process relating to the 1997 military memorandum (the "post-modern coup"), and active until at least May 2009. The primary activity of the group appears to have been classifying politicians, military personnel, journalists and others according to ethnic background, religious affiliation and political leanings, and to monitor the activity of those considered a potential danger to secularism in Turkey. This included monitoring some religious communities outside Turkey. It has been claimed that in 1997 BÇG had records on 6 million people, and offices in the Higher Education Board (YÖK) as well as in each branch of the military. Creation General Çevik Bir (t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Susurluk Scandal
The Susurluk scandal () was a scandal involving the close relationship among the deep state in Turkey, the Grey Wolves and the Turkish mafia. It took place during the peak of the Kurdish–Turkish conflict, in the mid-1990s. The relationship came into existence after the National Security Council (NSC) posited the need for the marshaling of the state's resources to combat the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). The scandal surfaced with a car–truck collision on 3 November 1996, near Susurluk, in the province of Balıkesir. The victims included the deputy chief of the Istanbul Police Department, a Member of Parliament, and Abdullah Çatlı, the leader of the Grey Wolves and a contract killer for the National Intelligence Organization (Turkey) (MİT), who was on Interpol's red list at the time of his death. The state had been engaged in an escalating low intensity conflict with the PKK since 1984. The conflict escalated in the early 1990s. Towards the end of 1992, a furious ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Castle Plan
The Castle Plan ( tr, Kale Planı) was a Turkish government plan to widen the range of means used to fight the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). This included using the resources of the Counter-Guerrilla, such as the Grey Wolves, as well as police and army units such as JITEM and the Special Forces Command, to assassinate PKK members and supporters. The plan was approved by the National Security Council under President Turgut Özal and Prime Minister Süleyman Demirel, but not put into effect immediately due to the opposition of Özal and Eşref Bitlis, the Commander of the Gendarmerie of Turkey.Michael M. Gunter (1998): "Susurluk: The connection between turkey's intelligence community and organized crime", International Journal of Intelligence and CounterIntelligence, 11:2, 119-141 Özal in particular favoured attempts to move forward the peace process, which produced the PKK's first cease-fire declaration on 20 March 1993. Eşref Bitlis died in a suspicious plane crash on 17 Fe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1997 Military Memorandum (Turkey)
The 1997 military memorandum ( tr, 28 Şubat, "28 February"; also called ''Post-modern darbe'', "Post-modern coup") in Turkey refers to the decisions issued by the Turkish military leadership on a National Security Council meeting on 28 February 1997. This memorandum initiated the process that precipitated the resignation of Islamist prime minister Necmettin Erbakan of the Welfare Party, and the end of his coalition government. As the government was forced out without dissolving the parliament or suspending the constitution, the event has been famously labelled a "postmodern coup" by the Turkish admiral Salim Dervişoğlu. The process after the coup is alleged to have been organised by the Batı Çalışma Grubu (Western Working Group), a purported clandestine group within the military. Preparations The operation was planned by generals İsmail Hakkı Karadayı, Çevik Bir, Teoman Koman, Çetin Doğan, Necdet Timur, and Erol Özkasnak. In 2012, Hasan Celal Güzel said th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rıdvan Özden
Rıdvan is the Turkish spelling of the Arabic masculine given name Ridwan ( Arabic: رِضْوَان ''riḍwān'') which the name also derived from the Islamic angel Ridwan and means "grace, pleasure, satisfaction and paradise". Notable people with the name include: * Rıdvan Baygut (born 1985), Turkish taekwondo practitioner * Rıdvan Bolatlı (born 1928), Turkish former footballer * Rıdvan Dilmen (born 1962), Turkish former footballer * Rıdvan Şimşek (born 1991), Turkish footballer * Rıdvan Yılmaz (born 2001), Turkish footballer See also * Garden of Ridván (other), two holy places in the Bahá'í Faith * Redouane * Ridwan (other) * Rizwan (other) Rizwan ( ar, رضوان, links=no) is an Arabic name and surname. It may refer to: * Riḍwan also spelled Rezwan or Rizwan, the angel in charge of maintaining Jannah or Paradise in Islam Athletes * Rizwan Akram, a Dutch cricket umpire and forme ... {{given name Turkish masculine given names [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1993 Kurdistan Workers' Party Ceasefire
The Kurdistan Workers Party ceasefire of 1993 was a short lived ceasefire declared by Abdullah Öcalan at a press conference. He held together with Jalal Talabani ahead of Newroz on the 17 March 1993. Background The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) waged a guerilla war against Turkey since 1984. Their demands initially included independence for a Kurdistan to be created out of the Kurdish areas in Turkey, but later transformed into a demand for more political and cultural freedom. In 1991, the Government of Turgut Özal ended the denial of the Kurdish identity by the Turkish government, a policy majorly implemented by the Turkish government since its first constitution in 1924. Following, Öcalan gave interviews to several newspapers based in Turkey and spoke of his willingness to reach a political solution in the conflict with Turkey. History At the press conference on 17 March with Jalal Talabani, the leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), three aspects of the ce ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
May 24, 1993 PKK Ambush
The 24 May 1993 PKK attack, sometimes referred to as the Bingöl massacre was a Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) attack on unarmed Turkish military soldiers on the Elazığ-Bingöl highway, west of Bingöl. 33 Turkish soldiers and varying conflicting accounts of civilians were killed (two, four five). This occurred following the breaking of the first ever PKK-Turkish ceasefire when Turkish forces attacked the PKK in Kulp. Background In late 1991, Turkish president Turgut Özal attempted to establish dialogue with the PKK. He had said the idea of a federation could be discussed and a Kurdish language TV channel could be opened. He also passed a bill, partially unbanning the use of the Kurdish language. In response the PKK declared a cease-fire on 20 March 1993. On 17 April 1993 Turgut Özal died under suspicious circumstances. The Turkish military began to increase their attacks on the PKK, in particular on 19 May, in Kulp killing around a dozen rebels. Under the control of the p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Today's Zaman
''Today's Zaman'' (Zaman is Turkish for 'time' or 'age') was an English-language daily newspaper based in Turkey. Established on 17 January 2007, it was the English-language edition of the Turkish daily '' Zaman.'' ''Today's Zaman'' included domestic and international coverage, and regularly published topical supplements. Its contributors included cartoonist Cem Kızıltuğ. On 4 March 2016, a state administrator was appointed to run ''Zaman'' as well as ''Today's Zaman''. Since a series of corruption investigations went public on 17 December 2013 which targeted high ranking government officials, the Turkish government has been putting pressure on media organizations that are critical of it. , the website of ''Today's Zaman'' had not been updated since 5 March, while all archived articles prior to March 2016 were removed. On July 20, 2016, five days after the military coup attempt, ''Today's Zaman'' was shut down after an executive decree by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan R ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ergenekon (organization)
Ergenekon () was the name given to an alleged clandestine, secular ultra-nationalist organization in Turkey with possible ties to members of the country's military and security forces. The would-be group, named after Ergenekon, a mythical place located in the inaccessible valleys of the Altay Mountains, was accused of terrorism in Turkey. Some believed Ergenekon was part of the " deep state". The existence of the "deep state" was affirmed in Turkish opinion after the Susurluk scandal in 1996. Alleged members had been indicted on charges of plotting to foment unrest, among other things by assassinating intellectuals, politicians, judges, military staff, and religious leaders, with the ultimate goal of toppling the incumbent government. Ergenekon's '' modus operandi'' had been compared to Operation Gladio's Turkish branch, the Counter-Guerrilla. By April 2011, over 500 people had been taken into custody and nearly 300 formally charged with membership in what prosecutors desc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eşref Bitlis
Eşref Bitlis (Malatya 1933 – Ankara 17 February 1993) was a general in the Turkish Gendarmerie, who died in a controversial plane crash. Background He was born 1933 in the eastern Anatolian city of Malatya, Turkey. He attended the Turkish Military Academy, finishing it in 1952 with the rank of lieutenant. In 1966, he graduated from the War Academy of the Army ( tr, Kara Harp Akademisi). After completing a language course in Germany, Bitlis studied further at the Academy of the Turkish Armed Forces ( tr, Silahlı Kuvvetler Akademisi), graduating in 1969. Later, he was educated at the Führungsakademie der Bundeswehr, the highest military academy of the German armed forces. He graduated in Germany in 1973. Career Following his graduation in Germany in 1973, Bitlis returned home and served one year as head teacher at the War Academy of the Army. In 1978, Eşref Bitlis was promoted to brigadier general and appointed commander of the 2nd Commando Brigade in Bolu, a mountain war ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
